The former A&W at 1462 Appleton Road in the Town of Menasha has been vacant since May 2011. / Maureen Wallenfang/The Post-Crescent

Written by

Maureen Wallenfang

Post-Crescent staff writer

Two of the three vacant A&W restaurants in the Fox Valley have been purchased, or put under contract, by developers/investors. Incoming tenants have not yet been signed on either so far.

• The former A&W at 1462 Appleton Road in the Town of Menasha was purchased by Konietzki Holdings LLC.

The Konietzki name locally is connected to Jimmy John’s franchises — Kurt Konietzki owns four Jimmy John’s locations — but he isn’t the purchaser.

It’s an undisclosed family member, he said, who bought the building. His role is to offer advice on the building’s future.

“There are a number of options for the property. We have talked about three or four different things,” he said. “We don’t know yet. It’s fair to say it might be a while.”

Jimmy John’s franchises typically go in smaller buildings than the A&W space, he said, but “Jimmy John’s is as much a consideration as anything else. I’d say it’s one of many possibilities.”

• Core Development has the former A&W at 421 W. Northland Ave. in Appleton in escrow. “My company has the A&W on Northland under contract and the vacant lot directly east of the A&W,” said Kim Pischke, principal. “We are looking at redeveloping the site.”

She said the initial redevelopment plan, which may change, would tear down the existing drive-in building and erect a multitenant building in its place.

• The third vacant former A&W at 2130 Freedom Road in Little Chute is still for sale. “We’ve had some interest,” said Ross Koepsel, real estate broker for Commercial Property Associates. “But there hasn’t been as much interest in it, compared to the other two, because it’s a smaller market.”

The three shuttered A&W branches closed in May 2011.

Two additional separately owned A&W restaurants continue to operate normally on Calumet Street in Darboy and on Westowne Drive in Neenah.